CardDAV account on Mac/iPhone

I have tried a million insane times to create a CardDAV account on my iPhone (10.2.1) so I can synch my contacts between my macmini (OS 10.12.3) and iPhone. I have read the various suggested solutions. No matter what, I ALWAYS get a message saying password for CardDAV account Google is incorrect. I've logged out of Google, and back in successfully, but still my CardDAV google password doesn't work. What the heck? What am I doing wrong? Should I be using a password other than Google? Thanks.